What’s it like being a parent of an esports player and how can they support their child’s interest in gaming?

With more young people getting involved in esports, many parents will be discovering this industry for the very first time. What are the benefits, the challenges to be aware of and how can parents support their children?

We spoke to the parents of several UK esports players in order to better understand the role they can play and the learning process they went through.

Video gaming doesn’t always get the positive press coverage or the praise that it could.

From cognitive benefits to leadership and communication skills, providing jobs, meeting new people, being part of a community or even just sitting down to play and relax for a while as a hobby, esports and gaming can offer many positives.

However, video gaming is still a relatively new activity compared to established sports and other traditional recreational activities. Because of this, it can seem alien, unusual, unhealthy or a waste of time to those new to it. It’s not seen as an acceptable career path to everyone.

But as esports continues to grow, more young people are playing and watching games, or getting involved behind the scenes as casters (commentators), coaches, managers, journalists and more. This means more parents and those new to esports are learning about it and becoming more aware of it.

Carol Bird, the mother of British Gwent champion Fred “Freddybabes” Bird, tells the British Esports Association: “I feel so many parents have a negative view of computers and computer games, just because they are a relatively new phenomenon.

“It’s about time a different slant was put on things: it’s not all bad and in fact there are lots of very positive things to be gained from gaming, even at a less competitive level. I’d far rather they did that as sit and watch TV.

“Esports is a genuine career path, as is streaming, casting, reporting and commenting on it. We don’t have a problem with kids who want to be footballers or TV presenters, but there is still a stigma attached to competitive gaming, as if it’s just a time-wasting hobby.

“Watching Fred’s progress so far has been scary and humbling in turn. I imagine he feels much the same way!”

“If you are the parent of a brilliant gamer, encourage and support, but don’t push: just believe in them. Take the opportunities when they arise as they may not come round again, and enjoy the experience: it’s not always about winning.” Carol Bird

Mike Atkins, the father of British Brawlhalla player Bill “Lanz” Atkins, who has played for Reason Gaming and competed in the World Championship in Atlanta, adds: “I think where the child shows determination, just as the same as in any other sport, I think parents should encourage it, I really do.

“The biggest single thing is transferable skills. It’s too easy to think it’s just escapism, which it partly is for those casually gaming. But for those in esports, it’s also building a skillset if you like, which is usable anywhere and in other professions.

“It’s also helped with Bill’s time management. And the whole business of losing, learning how to lose and turning it into a positive is very important. It’s a fantastic life lesson.”

Of course, the pro esports players were once beginners, and parents familiar with esports were once new to it. What convinced them that esports offers a real opportunity?

The learning process

Parents are there to guide and teach their children, but when it comes to new technology or trends it can often be the other way round.

So what’s it like for a parent when their child first expresses an interest in esports? And what would they say to other parents?

Andrew Ward (pictured left at the top of this article), the father of British Vainglory player Benedict “MrKcool” Ward (right), explains: “In my experience, you go through a number of different stages. Initially, you’re ignorant and have no real appreciation of what your son/daughter is doing – you simply have that old reaction: ‘You’re spending too much time on your screens.’

“There is also no appreciation of the impact of being away from the keyboard, for instance. So for instance if you insist on them stopping playing to go out or have a meal or whatever, at first you don’t realise the impact this has on other people playing the game.

“Gradually, you come to realise that it’s not a passing fad or just a childish phase… it’s important to take some time to actually look at the game, show an interest and perhaps start playing yourself… then it’s a matter of educating yourself about the potential benefits of professional esports participation.

“Vainglory has certainly been full of positives in my experience, once we caught up with what was actually going on: the team working, decision-making, communications skills, foreign travel and friendships, the manual dexterity and speed of thought, these are all positives.”

“I think parents have a responsibility to get involved themselves. I think that’s key to it. Instead of parents’ adopting a negative attitude… If a child for instance wanted to do ballet or riding or take up rugby as a sport regularly, the parent will be involved.” Mike Atkins

Shirley Atkins, the mother of Bill “Lanz” Atkins, comments: “We started very young with Bill. He started wanting to get into these games and play the computer at 7 or 8 years old. I was concerned because I don’t know who’s on there and who he’s talking to. He could spell and read very well so I was concerned what was on there.

“So I thought what should I do? Well, I’ve never played a game in my life and I’m not very good at computers, but I thought I’m going to go on there and have a look. So we joined the game together and played together. It was called Wizard101, a children’s game but a multi-thingybob and we could all play together at the same time. My husband Mike joined the game and we played together, so that’s how we got involved with him.

“Today, through esports, Bill socialises with people all over the world and that’s absolutely amazing to me. He’s got so many friends that he’s met through esports.

“But in the beginning I was very suspicious of it. I’d go in and turn the computer off and say ‘you can’t play!’ Parents have got to police it themselves, like anything. Like any sport, it still has to be kept under control. But I’m very happy with him doing esports.”

Carol Bird comments: “As a family we play a lot of board games and chess, so playing strategic games on a console or PC didn’t seem a million miles away from playing chess or Settlers of Catan. Over the years I have spoken to many parents who were concerned about the amount of time their children spend in front of a computer or games console.

“We were always quite laissez-faire about screen time compared to other parents and it helped that Fred was always self-limiting. He is conscientious and hard-working so would always prioritise school work and use gaming as a relaxing way to unwind afterwards. I appreciate that not everyone has such impulse control. But I would point out to the nay-sayers that you can’t get good at anything without a certain amount of time investment.

“If someone finds something they passionately enjoy and are good at it seems harsh to excessively limit that enjoyment, provided that other key elements in life, such as school and sleep, aren’t suffering.”

This also brings up the important topic of schoolwork and fitting in esports as a hobby or part-time paid activity around academic studies.

Studies and scrims: Getting the balance right

UK FIFA player Shellzz (left) left sixth form to focus on esports full-time, he tells presenter and interviewer Julia Hardy

Ask many people in esports and they will tell you to study first and play esports in your spare time as a hobby, in moderation. However, for some it’s easier said than done.

Some young players have real, raw talent in a specific game, and may receive serious offers from big esports teams around the world to play that game (or work in another esports area) professionally while they’re still studying. The temptation may be there to quit college or university for the chance to pursue a career in esports.

Even if the offers aren’t there, managing scrims (practice matches) with schoolwork can be tricky.

Mike Atkins, the father of Brawlhalla player Bill “Lanz” Atkins, says: “Bill is very capable of self-motivation. He does the same thing with his esports as he does with piano. He’s able to focus very intensely on whatever he’s doing at that particular time. So for him it’s not a problem.

“As parents, we have to trust him that he will get his work done. What he does after that is entirely up to him. We don’t push him, we do make suggestions from time to time that he ought to get an essay or assignment done. But other than that, he’s self-managing, self-policing and I think he’s got the balance right.”

It’s also a good idea to take a break from esports when studies get particularly demanding.

Come to a decision for now, I am going to have to step back from competitive gaming for a time in order to focus on education – not sure how long but one things certain, I’m definitely NOT done with competing and look forward to coming back in the future.

Shirley Atkins adds: “Bill is taking a break from Brawlhalla at the moment to focus on his A-levels, he needs to get three As to get to where he wants to go to. He’s stepping back but he’s not stopping, he’s still practicing, just not at the same level. We haven’t asked him to do that – he’s chosen to do that.

“It’s a release between working on his A-levels, where a lot of students struggle because it’s constant work, work, work – he’s been able to juggle the two and it’s helped him.”

Carol Bird agrees that esports can complement schoolwork, in that it acts as downtime and gives her son a break.

“Fred very much uses gaming as a counterpoint to stress,” she explains. “When he wasn’t gaming as much but mainly focusing on school, you could see his anxiety levels rising.

“During the A Level revision period he played games a lot. As a parent it is very hard to stand back and let your child do their thing, but we decided to trust his judgement when many other parents probably would not have. As it turned out he got the grades he wanted at A level plus he qualified for a major Gwent tournament.

“For him it was the right thing to do even if it looked the wrong thing to us. He has been lucky with the timing, which has allowed him to attend tournaments that older participants with jobs struggle to make.

“His university was incredibly supportive of him taking time away from his studies during term time and I would hope to see this become the norm in schools and colleges, as esports becomes more established and accepted.”

“Gradually, you come to realise that it’s not a passing fad or just a childish phase… it’s important to take some time to actually look at the game, show an interest and perhaps start playing yourself… then it’s a matter of educating yourself about the potential benefits of professional esports participation.” Andrew Ward

Andrew Ward has had a similar experience with his son’s school: “MrKcool has a very supportive and forward-thinking headteacher – I think it’s really helpful to educate your children’s teachers about esports!

“He has acknowledged all the positives I mentioned earlier and stated that he sees MrKcool’s representation as the equivalent of other pupils who play cricket, rugby etc at a high level.

“It’s also worth noting that MrKcool’s headteacher is also of the opinion that universities will be impressed by what he’s achieved in his future applications to them, for some of these very reasons.

“Practicing with players from different timezones can be a problem. Having said that, the occasions are very rare and therefore of pretty limited impact; we try to be as flexible as possible and of course each team will have its own set of preferences and priorities. Working together to find the best compromise is all part of the game.

“We have kept an eye on homework delivery and grade scores, and in our case MrKcool has never been adversely affected, so it simply hasn’t been an issue.”

Shaun “Shellzz” Springette, an 18-year-old UK FIFA player who plays for Unilad, left sixth form to pursue a career in esports full-time. How did his parents react?

“They knew it was alright but they didn’t realise how big it could be, and how good I am. Because I could just say I was the best, and they could believe it – or they’re not really going to believe it!”

Parent support then, is key, and clearly has massive effects on young people and professionals in esports:

The parents who host LAN tournaments in their house

Mike and Shirley Atkins says being proactive as a parent and getting involved with their child’s passion for esports is key

We already touched on the topic of parents encouraging their children and trying out esports themselves. But there’s getting involved and playing the game or watching it, and then there’s hosting actual LAN tournaments in the home: something that Mike and Shirley Atkins are familiar with.

Mike Atkins explains: “We’re fortunate we have the space here and the technology and the knowhow. We set up LAN camps here at home, we invited all of Bill’s contacts and friends. They come here and stay here. We make it a positive experience for them.

“We’ve had 12 here at one time. We’ve had players from Norway, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Surrey, Bournemouth, all over the UK. They come here and stay, and it’s brilliant. We settle down with them too, we have space to have barbecues and so on.”

Shirley Atkins adds: “It’s not a business, it’s just about getting friends together – it’s about practicing and enjoying it. That’s a great experience in life.

“They roast marshmallows around the fire pit, and make a mess! They’re all very good actually, it’s something I feel it’s a memory for them in years to come. They will look back on it. We let them get on with it.

“These kids are such bright kids, they’re so intelligent. Diakou has really high A-levels and he’s on a very high level as well, the same as the lot of them. We had him here for three weeks with us! He didn’t want to go home, he loved it.

“They asked me when we finished the last one if they can come back next year! We’re happy to. There’s no distractions around here and we like having them here, they’re nice people.”

Mike Atkins comments: “I think parents have a responsibility to get involved themselves. I think that’s key to it. Instead of parents’ adopting a negative attitude… If a child for instance wanted to do ballet or riding or take up rugby as a sport regularly, the parent will be involved and taking the child to their venue and so on, that would be a constant commitment.

“With the computer, unfortunately kids are often left to get on with it themselves without too much direction. If parents aren’t prepared to see games as a sport, as a positive reinforcement of life benefits… if parents are able to get involved, I think we’ll have a very healthy and positive scene. But it’s down to the parents to be proactive in this.

“You’ve got two choices as a parent, you can either go with it or reject it, and go up against your youngster, and you’re going to be battling all the way.”

“Today, through esports, Bill socialises with people all over the world and that’s absolutely amazing to me. He’s got so many friends that he’s met through esports. “But in the beginning I was very suspicious of it.” Shirley Atkins

Shirley does want to point out some of the challenges and potential negatives around esports or gaming culture.

She says: “At the lower level, I do have a lot of concerns, especially with eight or nine year olds that play, like my grandson, who’s very much into Minecraft and Roblox. He’s picking up things I’m not happy with and most of that he’s not picking up from the game, but from YouTube.

“That’s having a major effect on our youngsters, and we’ve had to stop him on some of the things with the language he’s coming out with. A lot of that is about policing by the parents.

“Then there’s esports teams. As a parent, you have to make sure you know who wants to sign up your child, where they come from and what they’re signing.”

Mike adds: “In esports you have to be able to shut out what’s going on around you and focus. That can be very frustrating as parents, sometimes we’ll call Bill and he won’t answer us, not because he doesn’t want to but because he literally can’t hear us because he’s so focused on what he’s doing. It’s like any sport.”

But the positives outweigh the negatives, explains Shirley: “When we went across to America [to play in a tournament], we went out to have something to eat, there must have been at least 30 young people in the restaurant. Every time anybody came in, they’re all up and greeting each other, they all know each other.

“It doesn’t matter where they are from around the world, that spirit between them all, I just found that amazing. I loved it.

“If one wins against the other ones, it doesn’t matter, there’s no anger there. They say well done to each other, it’s really nice to see that.

“The one thing I find that’s really important is when they’re playing, or when they’re here, the drink content is very low, whereas a lot of people that age – around 18 or so – they’re very much into trying the drink out. But they don’t do that because they can’t play if they do. We don’t have alcohol at our LAN event, they will have the odd beer with a meal or whatever, but there’s no excess drinking because they want to stay on top of their game.”

Reaching the top

Fred Bird is one of the best Gwent players in the world and his mother says there are many positives to take from esports

Playing esports and games for recreation at an amateur level, but reaching the top-tier professional ranks comes with its own set of challenges – and opportunities.

What should parents bear in mind here?

Carol Bird states: “Millions of people play computer games but not everyone has the ability to be good at it. If you are good don’t waste your talent: use it!

“If you are the parent of a brilliant gamer, encourage and support, but don’t push: just believe in them. Take the opportunities when they arise as they may not come round again, and enjoy the experience: it’s not always about winning.”

“I don’t think Fred ever set out to be a successful esports player, but after several months at the top of the pro ladder he started to think about it as a possibility. He kept asking if we would allow him to go to a tournament abroad if he qualified and since he had turned 18 there seemed no reason why he shouldn’t – and it always seemed such a crazy impossibility anyway.

“I imagine many parents in a similar position would have been horrified at the prospect but it has been an amazing way for him to grow as an individual. He gets to hang out with people who share his passion, compete with people he has admired for a long time online, and because of his skill he is taken seriously regardless of his relative youth. How can that not be a positive thing?”

Carol concludes “I do think it is really important to support your child even when you don’t understand their passion. Parents are struggling with the comparative newness of the digital age and how swiftly everything is changing. But new doesn’t have to be bad and technology isn’t going to go away.

“Isn’t it better for our children to master technology than for us to be stubbornly trying to limit their use of it, just because we did something different?”

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Natacha Jones

Championships Project Manager

Natacha Jones is an experienced esports producer and observer who holds the role of Championships project manager at the British Esports Association.

She looks after the British Esports Championships for schools and colleges, working alongside school projects lead Tom Dore, epic.LAN and our team of admins.

Over the past few years, Natacha has built up some impressive experience within UK esports. She was project manager for the King of the North gaming festival, president of the University of Manchester Esports Society and has also been working as a freelance esports observer and producer. In January 2019, Natacha was promoted at the NUEL to creative director.

Michael O'Dell

Dignitas Founder

Michael O’Dell (aka ODEE) is the founder of long-running esports organisation Dignitas, and previously managed its professional esports teams. He is a veteran of competitive gaming and a keen supporter of the growing industry.

Team Dignitas was founded in 2003 having started out in Battlefield 1942, and has grown to produce top sides across multiple titles including League of Legends, CSGO, Rocket League and more. Dignitas was acquired by US NBA basketball club The Philadelphia 76ers in 2016, later rebranded to Dignitas and ODEE stepped away from the organisation in 2019.

Andrew Nixon

Sheridans Lawyer

Andrew heads up the sports and esports team at the entertainment and media firm Sheridans. Andrew acts for a wide range of stakeholders within the esports industry, including rights holders, leagues, teams, game developers and individual esports talent.

He has also spoken at various esports and sports conferences on esports, across a variety of issues, including regulation, player welfare, governance and the commercialisation of esports and content licensing. Andrew’s background is in traditional sports sector, acting forgoverning bodies, rights holders, sports data companies, sports clubs, sports agencies, sponsors and individual athletes. Andrew is also a non-executive director of Table Tennis England and sits on the editorial board for Law in Sport.

Dominic has an extensive background in video games trade journalism, having worked at NewBay Media on games industry publication MCV and as editor of tech trade title PCR.

He founded his own publication Esports News UK in 2015 to cover the UK League of Legends scene and other esports games in the UK, conducting player interviews, match reports and covering news.

Dominic is responsible for content on the British Esports Association website, internal and external communications, handling public queries and works with marketing and PR on the association’s messaging.

Alice Leaman

School and college liaison officer

Alice has service and hospitality experience as well as close ties with the British Esports Association. She has been volunteering for British Esports for more than a year, having helped with the pilot Championships and Season 1 and 2 as an admin.

Alice looks after schools and colleges in the North of the UK.

Tom Dore

Head of Education

Tom is leading our exciting schools project as Head of Education, looking at launching esports leagues in schools and colleges throughout the UK.

Currently still working at a school in Bath, he is an experienced teacher and educator with over 17 years experience in different leadership roles across a full spectrum of state and independent schools. He has also worked as an associate for PIXL, the national partnership of over 2,500 schools in the UK. He is passionate about supporting young people and enabling them to achieve success both inside and outside the classroom.

David Martin

Dave has 15+ years experience advising the education sector including government, professional institutions and employers about skills both in the UK and internationally.

At British Esports he is head of skills and offers us support on relationships with various colleges and educational organisations.

In 2017 Dave co-founded an international edtech company to look at enhancing the skills required for global projects like the China Belt and Road.

Dave also holds numerous executive roles across tech as an investment and skills adviser.

Morgan Ashurst

Marketing manager

Morgan boasts a host of marketing and content experience, having worked as digital content manager at Riot Gaming and most recently as senior marketing executive at system builder Fierce PC, where she headed up the Fierce Esports brand and its teams.

She is also a former Call of Duty pro gamer, having competed at LAN events since the age of 16 and was featured in a Channel 4 documentary, Vice article and campaign for Belong and Activision.

Elliot Bond

School and college liaison officer

Elliot has been building PCs and playing games from a young age, and is currently a high-ranked Champion 3 Rocket League player who has Grand Champion in his sights this season.

He joined British Esports from Mallinson Sport Centre at Highgate School in London, where he worked as commercial and enterprise duty manager focusing on tournament, project and client management.

Elliot looks after schools and colleges in the South of the UK.

Adam Leadercramer

Director and Company Secretary

Adam is a Partner and the Head of Digital Media/ Technology at Onside Law, a boutique law firm based in London and specialising in the sports, esports and media sectors.

He acts for a broad range of clients within these sectors including governing bodies, teams, individuals, established brands and start- up/growth businesses.

Chester King

Founder & CEO

British Esports was founded by Chester King of the International Group. Chester received authority from the UK Government to establish the association in January 2016.

Chester has a 23-year background in traditional sports, with Stoke Park (owned by International Group) running the pre-wimbledon tennis event The Boodles, as well as working for the Football Association, Lord’s and the Rugby Football Union.

Chester also founded The eGames initiative, a separate international medal-based esports tournament which ran its showcase in British House alongside the Rio Olympics.

The British Esports Association, the not-for-profit national body set up to support grassroots esports, has appointed the Rt. Hon. Ed Vaizey MP as Vice Chair.

Ed worked as Culture Minister between 2010 and 2016, and is currently the Member of Parliament for Didcot and Wantage.

He is a big advocate of the video games industry in Britain, having secured tax breaks for game development studios, and was recently recognised by GamesIndustry.Biz as one of the 100 most influential people in the British games industry.

Rob Allen

Projects Executive

Rob has impressive experience in esports coaching, having worked with ManaLight, a former esports organisation who made it to several UK finals in League of Legends.

Rob is passionate about UK esports and also helped with the association’s kids’ esports club at Maida Vale Library.

Ceirnan Lowe

Caster

Ceirnan “Excoundrel” Lowe is an esports broadcaster with over four years experience in the UK esports industry, covering multiple titles as a colour caster.

He previously studied medicine at university but have left the field and found a home within the esports industry. He has cast a host of games from League of Legends to Hearthstone and Vainglory, for a range of companies.

Mary Antieul

Tournament provider (GAME/Belong/Insomnia)

Mary Antieul oversees esports strategy, operations and partnerships at GAME across the Belong arenas and Insomnia Gaming Festival. She has worked in the gaming industry for over ten years and has significant experience within gaming retail, in building and sustaining gaming communities and delivering exciting competitive experiences for gamers.

Mary’s focus is to encourage the growth of the grassroots scene through competition and supporting infrastructure.

Ryan Hart

Content creator and host, former pro gamer

Ryan Hart is one of the most well-known UK players in the fighting game genre, having won over 450 tournaments.

The former professional Street Fighter player is a four-time Guinness World Record holder, two-time Evolution world champion and the most successful UK esports player to date. These days he works as a content creator and host.

Josh Williams

Student representative (NUEL)

Josh is focused on giving people their first opportunities to participate in esports and help them develop their talents. He founded the National University Esports League (NUEL), the UK’s inter-university esports tournament, in 2010, which has grown into one of the largest participation esports leagues in the UK.

Josh is also one of the founding members of University Esports Masters (UEM), the European group of university esports leagues working together to grow the collegiate scene within Europe and organise the annual continental championship.

David Yarnton

Director, Gfinity/Edge Esports

David Yarnton has been involved in the video games industry for over 30 years and was a founding director of Gfinity, the first company to launch a dedicated esports arena in London.

In addition to Gfinity, David is involved in the esports industry with a couple of digital start-ups including Edge Esports, and prior to that was a senior executive with Nintendo for 17 years, most recently in charge of their business in the UK & Ireland, having moved here with the company from Australia in 2003.

He has been on a number of industry boards and is currently chairman of the esports sub-group of UKIE (UK Interactive Entertainment, the only trade body for the UK’s games and wider interactive entertainment industry) as well as being founder and chairman of the British Inspiration Awards, an organisation that helps recognise and celebrate British creative achievements.

Carleigh Morgan

Academic

Carleigh Morgan is a former Fulbright scholar and a currentPhD candidate at King’s College London.

Her dissertation explores the cybernetic sutures between bodies and machines, with particular emphasis on the diagrams of legibility that encode gamers as programmable and readable by computer technologies. Pro gamers feature centrally as part of this work, and many hours of research involve interviewing players, streamers, sports psychologists, physiologists and sports managers to develop a broad understanding of the training regimens of top gamers.

In 2016 she graduated from the MA in Contemporary Literature, Culture, and Theory at King’s College, London with a Distinction and is currently a research assistant at the Centre for Digital Culture. She also works with Women in Gaming as well as the Institute for Esports Research Portal, and has written about the legal rights of esports players for various publications, including Motherboard.

Mark Candella

Broadcaster (Twitch)

As the second executive from Twitch on British Esports’ Advisory Board, stepping in for Chris if he’s unable to attend a board meeting (and vice versa), Mark Candella is the firm’s Director of Strategic Partnerships.

Craig Fletcher

Multiplay founder

Having run his first online gaming league (over dialup modem) and “LAN party” in 1994, Craig then founded Multiplay in 1997 as a games-orientated event management company, with a primary focus on running LAN events and the very early days of esports.

He is responsible for the Insomnia series of events, which now take place at the Birmingham NEC several times per year and attract thousands of visitors. Multiplay was sold to GAME in 2015, and Craig now sits as part of the retailer’s senior executive team, where he leads the group’s transformation strategy around esports and competitive gaming.

Heather Dower

Presenter, caster and host

Heather is well-known in UK esports having worked with the likes of Ginx TV, Multiplay and others, hosting the likes of the Daily Download show, Insomnia esports tournaments and more.

The presenter, caster and stage host joined the board in September 2017. She said: “I have always believed that esports is a powerful space that can be used to enrich the community, something I will endeavour to do as a part of the association.”

Darren Newnham

Biz dev/consultant

Darren “Slammer” Newnham is a gamer, esports fan and business development professional who has brought years of commercial and corporate experience (from Disney, SEGA and O2) to teams, players and brands.

Currently head of Nexus, his own esports business that brings teams, organizations, brands and players together. He cut his teeth in esports with the largest global esports teams: Fnatic.

Darren can often be found on a PUBG map, on BF1 with friends or still tanking a few LFR groups in WoW. He started gaming back in the days of 486 PCs and Duke Nukem 3D ladders on Compuserve on a 14k dial up modem (yes he’s that old)!

Andy Payne

OBE, Chair

Andy is an experienced video games entrepreneur of 32 years, having run Mastertronic from 1988 to 2015.

He chaired games industry trade body Ukie from 2005 to 2015 and is still a board member. He is a board advisor at games developer Bossa Studios and a founder of games industry charity GamesAid.

Andy was a founder of mobile and tablet specialist AppyNation and Gambitious, a crowdfunding platform for games and movies. He is also chair of Esports specialist EGL, founder of simulation specialists Just Flight and a VP of games charity Special Effect.